March 22, 1999, Issue: 834
Section: Opinion/Editorial
Remember, Numbers Never Lie
Heather Clancy
Numbers never lie. Which is all the more reason why every reader of this
publication should take a serious gander at this week's monthly reseller
hardware and software poll results (see page 6 and page 40).
Of course, direct marketer Dell is no newcomer to the best-selling-vendor list
compiled each month for the hardware results. What is new, however, is its
climb to the top of the list-at least among branded vendors-for the very first
time.
Not surprisingly, white boxes still retain their longtime status as resellers'
best-selling desktop systems by a wide margin. But in February, Dell eked out
the best-seller race to best Compaq among the major systems makers.
Granted, Dell was named by 12 percent of resellers surveyed, while Compaq
was cited by 11 percent. Not exactly a huge margin. Just 12 months ago,
however, Dell only garnered votes from about 2 percent of respondents.
The reasons for this seemingly baffling result are myriad, I'm sure. But
Compaq's evolving new channel business model may hold the answer. Under
that strategy-details of which are due out next week-the vendor plans to retain
title to all inventory until it is actually sold to an end-user customer (CRN,
March 15).
Hence, Dell's rise among resellers may partially be due to the simple fact that
when a reseller sells Dell products, the customer typically takes title. Even
though the VAR may reconfigure, install and otherwise service the hardware,
it doesn't have to lay out cold, hard cash to lay in Dell inventory. Not a bad
thing if you're a small operation with a limited cash flow. As other hardware
vendors continue to adapt their channel programs, it should be interesting to
map Dell's progress on the monthly poll. It certainly will not be business as
usual.
The software poll results are no less intriguing.
For the second straight month, Oracle emerged as the top client/server
database vendor, edging out Microsoft.
How can a developer with such a checkered channel past win so much
reseller mind share-especially with smaller partners? The answer may lie in
Oracle's limited pilot program, in which it has been referring all sales leads for
companies with less than $500 million to channel partners. The pilot has
covered four geographic regions.
As CRN West Coast Bureau Chief Shawn Willett reports this week, the
program produced some unexpected results. For one, the database developer
has seen a significant pickup in sales among its distributors and smaller VARs
that purchase products through them. As a result, Oracle has begun letting
partners offer more flexible, custom-license agreements rather than forcing
them to stick to prepackaged options.
The results of both polls serve notice to resellers and vendors alike that
nothing can be taken for granted as the industry slouches toward the
millennium. I remember sometime last year challenging resellers-somewhat
naively, in retrospect-to stick with those vendor partners that had remained
loyal to the channel rather than partnering with the likes of Dell. Nowadays, all
bets are off, and relationships must by necessity be tied more to the bottom
line. Numbers don't lie. But they may change from month to month. And so
will relationships.
Call me at (516) 733-8646 or E-mail me at hclancy@cmp.com. |
